How speech recognition techniques are helping to predict volcanoes' behaviour

Dr Luciano Zuccarello grew up in the shadow of Mount Etna, an active volcano on the Italian island of Sicily. Farms and orchards ring the lower slopes of the volcano, where the fertile soil is ideal for agriculture. But the volcano looms large in the life of locals because it is also one of the most active volcanoes in the world. More than 29 million people globally live within 10km of a volcano, and understanding volcanoes' behaviour – and being able to predict when they are going to erupt or spew ash into the air – is vital for safeguarding people's wellbeing. However, predicting volcano behaviour is difficult, especially if they have been dormant, and monitoring them can be challenging since taking samples or deploying equipment poses physical dangers.